vnz learn hot english – october 2015

In every issue of Learn Hot English you’ll learn over 350 English words and expressions!. You’ll learn to understand English, plus you can hear lots of different accents!. With Learn H

Twins

Learn 8 useful slang terms.

Read some fascinating stories about twins!

Murder mystery!

part of our 10-part

murder-mystery The

Trouser Snatcher.

Interesting words and

expressions for this year!

Find out all about Irish history, Irish films, the Celts, and Irish sports.

No.161

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How you learn English with Learn Hot English magazine

OnLInE And mAGAzInE AdvErTISInG

All material in this publication is strictly copyright, and all rights are reserved Reproduction without permission is prohibited The views expressed

in Hot English Magazine do not necessarily represent the views of Hot English Publishing SL However, we also think that Crippen is creepy,

interviewers can be scary and Little Bo Peep really should have taken better care of her sheep

FolloW Hot EnglIsH on FacEbook

5 Spaniel Superstar TrACk 01

6 How to say telephone numbers!

TrACk 02

& Error Terror TrACk 03

7 Salaries TrACk 04

9 Traditional English songs

10 Story Time TrACk 05

11 Functional language:

saying sorry TrACk 06

12 Basic English: The Bank

13 Social English:

The Bank TrACk 07

14 New words TrACk 08

15 999 Calls TrACk 09

& Recipe (pancakes)

16 Trivia Matching

17 Weird Trivia TrACk 10

18 Corny Criminals TrACk 11

32 Cats & Chimps TrACk 16

33 Happy Anniversary

34 Theatre Crossword

35 Elite universities TrACk 17

36 Vocabulary & Typical Dialogues: The theatre TrACk 18

37 Dr Fingers’ Vocabulary Clinic: surprises TrACk 19

38 Genius TrACk 20

39 Quirky News TrACk 21

40 British bar chat TrACk 22

& US talk TrACk 23

41 Tattoos TrACk 24

42 Dumb US Laws TrACk 25

43 Missing mystery TrACk 26

44 Dictionary of Slang TrACk 27

45 Idioms: The house TrACk 28

46 Dr Crippen

47 Phrasal Verbs TrACk 29

48 Twins Stories

50 Twin Fame TrACk 30

52 Junk Sleep TrACk 31

53 Answers

54 The Whitechapel Trouser Snatcher

TrACk 32

56 Word of the Month: Euphemisms

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Hi everybody and welcome to

another issue of Learn Hot English magazine – the fun magazine for

learning English This month, you can find out how to greet an interviewer in English This is really useful as our opinions of people are formed in the first few minutes

of meeting them So, it’s extremely important that

you make a good impression These mini-dialogues

should help you with that Our main focus this

month is Ireland Find out about Irish history, Irish

films and Irish sports, among many other things

Also this month, we’re looking at one of Britain’s

most famous criminal cases: the story of Dr Crippen

Find out what he got up to and how he became so

infamous On another note, you may have seen a

dubbed film or television series with Will Smith,

but have you ever heard him speaking English?

Well, now you can find out what he sounds like

after we went to speak to him and recorded what

he said Of course, that’s not all - we’ve lots more

fun things for you to read and listen to so you can

learn lots of useful English Well, we hope you enjoy

reading and listening to this issue of Learn Hot

English Have fun, learn lots of English and see you

all next month!

audIo FIlEs

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21

48 46 24

A dog has won an award Ghillie, a Springer spaniel,

saved his owner’s life after she collapsed Ghillie

started to bark when he saw his owner on the floor

And he didn’t stop until some people arrived to help

One of the rescuers said, “The only reason that we

came to help the lady is because the dog would not

shut up It just barked and barked and in the end we

decided that we had to go and see what the problem

was” Mrs Wilson was taken to hospital in an ambulance

where she made a complete recovery Now, the

community are going to give an award to Ghillie “He

saved my life,” said Mrs Wilson

Dog saves life,

a rescuer n

a person who saves someone from

a dangerous situation

to make a complete recovery exp

to become better again after being ill

Track 01

Learn over 150 useful words and expressions!

Improve your listening skills!

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Perfect your pronunciation and spoken English!

This book is perfecT for learners of all ages, parenTs

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iT includes:

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Activities to increase your range of vocabulary.

Audio files to improve your listening skills.

A wide variety of topics and themes related to English-language culture.

Comprehension exercises so you can check your understanding.

Pronunciation activities to perfect your speaking skills.

Glossaries in English so you can learn the meaning of new words.

improve your english! Visit our website for more information:

1. He like to speak about himself

2. She doesn’t eats fish

3. This one is biggest that the other one

4. I like this ones

5. She is swimming in this moment

6 That chairs are ours

7 A: Do you like it? B: Yes, I am

HIGH LEVEL

1. We saw each other the last night

2 Have you got one pen that you could lend me?

3. Sally is doctor – just like her father

4. I worked like a barman last year

5. We often listen to radio in the car

6. We went to beach for our summer holidays

7. The dogs are very sociable animals

A: Reception: Yes, his office number is 976 243 087

B: Reception: Oh, good morning, Mrs Smith What can I do for you?

C: Reception: BYD Computing How may I help you?

D: Caller: Oh, could you save me a few copies, please? I’ll be in later to

pick them up

E: Caller: Hi, this is Sarah Smith

F: Caller: I was just wondering if you had Bob’s number

G: Caller: And have you got his mobile number?

H: Caller: Thanks very much I’ll see you later

I: Caller: Oh, and I was just wondering if the copies of the brochure were

back from the printer yet

J: Reception: Yes, they are here in reception

K: Caller: Thanks very much

L: Reception: No problem

M: Reception: OK I’ll put some just under my desk

N: Reception: Yes, it’s 649 021 445

You are going to listen to a telephone conversation Listen

once and write down the following telephone numbers.

1 His office number _

2. His mobile number _

Listening II

See if you can put the telephone conversation in order

Then, listen again to check your answers

telephone numbers!

How to say

saying telephone numbers

Remember the following:

In British English we say “oh” for “0” (the Americans use the word “zero”) For example:

“019” is “oh, 19”

For double figures, British speakers often say “double + the number” For example:

“66” is “double six”

Remember, when saying numbers the objective is to make it easy for the other

person to write down the number So, say them as clearly as possible, and group

them into twos or threes For example, “493_278_44_62”

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6

to earn vb the money you “earn”, is the money you receive for working

MP abbr a member of parliament -

an elected official who represents a region of the UK

a seven-figure salary exp a salary that has seven figures For example, 1,200,000 euros

CEO abbr the chief executive officer

- the most important person in an organisation

Who earns the

most in the UK?

Match each profession (1 to 6) to its picture (A to F) Answers on page 53

How much do you earn? Have you ever compared

your salary to other professions? A new study on

salaries has some interesting results

The average British salary is about €30,000

a year People earning below the average

include cleaners (on about €9,000 a year),

farmers (€28,000 a year), vicars (€24,000) and

carpenters (€28,000) Those earning slightly

more than the average include nurses (who are

on about €31,000 a year), vets (about €38,000 a

year) and teachers (€39,000)

A bit higher in the pay scales you can find

architects (who earn about €52,000 a year),

solicitors (€53,000), financial advisers (€54,000),

and dentists (€63,000) Those in the top 10%,

who earn a salary of more than €75,000 include

MPs, doctors and airline pilots

At the very top, there are people such as Prime Minister David Cameron (who is on about

€160,000 a year), BBC boss Tony Hall (around

€500,000 a year), and the queen (who gets about €46 million a year) Other high earners include actors, singers and footballers, some of

whom are on seven-figure salaries

Britain’s highest-paid executive is Sir Martin

Sorrell He’s the CEO of WPP, a British

multinational advertising and public relations company Sir Martin earns about €1.7 million a year, but with bonuses his overall salary is over

Learn more! Get an idioms booklet! 300 useful idioms + audio files For more information, visit: www.learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 7 Track 04

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This is another part in our series on nursery rhymes and their fascinating origins

Little Miss Muffet

This rhyme is all about a little girl called Little Miss Muffet

The rhyme is based on a real girl whose name was Patience Muffet

Her stepfather, Dr Muffet 1604), was a famous entomologist (an insect scientist) who wrote the first catalogue of British insects

(1553-No one is sure if the poem is based on a true story, but you can imagine it happening

Little Bo Peep

This song is all about a little

shepherdess called

Bo Peep She falls

asleep while she

is working The

moral of the story

is that you should take responsibility for your work or

face the consequences Some of the words

in other verses of the rhyme have almost completely disappeared from the English language These include words such as

“espied” (saw) and “hillocks” (small hills)

Little Boy Blue

There is a theory that “Little Boy Blue” refers to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1475-1530) He was an important figure during the reign

of King Henry VIII (April 1509 to January 1547)

Wolsey was famous for being extremely rich

and arrogant He had many enemies and was

unpopular with the people of England He was

called the “Boy Bachelor” after he received

his degree from Oxford University at the age

of fifteen The expression “to blow your horn”

can mean “to brag” – something that Cardinal

Wolsey often did Between 1514 and 1525, Wolsey transformed a medieval manor into the magnificent Hampton Court Palace, which you can still visit today

At this time, England was a rich country mostly

because of the wool trade and the export

taxes on wool The reference to “the little

boy who looks after the sheep” could refer to Wolsey’s concern to make money personally from the wool tax

And the reference to “blue” could come from

Wolsey’s coat of arms, which included the blue

faces of four leopards Many historians see this rhyme as a form of indirect criticism of Wolsey

Of course, any open and direct criticism of

Wolsey at the time would have meant imprisonment or even

death Eventually, Wolsey fell out

of favour, and in 1529 Henry VIII

confiscated all of Wolsey’s lands and possessions

arrogant adj with ideas of superiority about yourself

a tax n money you pay to the government for services: the police, education, etc

to fall out of favour exp

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey,

Along came a big spider, Who sat down beside her, And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Little Bo peep has lost her sheep, And doesn’t know where to find them

Leave them alone and they’ll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

Little Boy Blue come blow your horn,

The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.

Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?

He’s under a haystack fast asleep.

Traditional English songs

English songs!

Traditional

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Hair Cut

A man is getting his hair cut

All of a sudden, he asks the

barber, “Hey, I’ve got a

two-year-old son When would be

the best time to bring him in?

And the barber answers,

“When he’s four.”

Strong Man

The young man at a

construction site is talking

about how strong he is After

several minutes, one of the

older workers says, “I’ll bet

you a week’s wages that I

can carry something in a

wheelbarrow over to that

building over there that you

won’t be able to wheel back.”

“OK,” says the young man

“You’re on.”

So, the old man grabs the

wheelbarrow by the handles

and then says to the young

man, “Right, get in.”

Single man

Jim is 53 years old and still

single One day a friend

asks, “Hey, Jim Why aren’t you married? Can’t you find anyone?”

And Jim replies, “Actually, I’ve found many women I wanted to marry, but when I bring them home to meet my parents, my mother doesn’t like them.”

His friend thinks for a moment and says,

“I’ve got the perfect solution: just find a girl who is just like your mother.”

“OK,” says Jim

“That sounds like a good idea.”

A few months

later, the two friends meet again and Jim’s friend says, “Hey, Jim, did you find the perfect girl then? Did your mother like her?”

“Yes, I found the perfect girl,” said

Jim “She was just like my mother You were right My mother liked her very much.”

And the friend says,

“Well, then, what’s the problem? Why aren’t you married?”

And Jim replies, “My father doesn’t like her.”

single n not married

Can I come back when

wheelbarrow

is an excellent method of transportation.

No, you don’t understand I don’t want to marry you.

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10

Learn hundreds of phrasal verbs, really improve your

English and speak like a native speaker! Booklet

comes with listening files!

Phrasal verbs booklets

This month: saying sorry

Useful language for successful communication

Saying sorry for doing something

wrong

I’m sorry about that

I’m sorry that I broke your tennis racket

I’m sorry

Sorry (If you tread on someone or bump

into someone.)

Whoops! (informal)

I’m really sorry about crashing your car

Sorry about the mess I’ll clear it up later

I’d like to apologise for the way I spoke to

you earlier

Sorry that I lied to you

Saying sorry for someone else

I’m sorry but little Sally is always smashing

things

I’m sorry about Jim’s behaviour last night

Responding to an apology

Never mind

It’s OK / That’s OK

Don’t worry about it

We’ll be all right

to put your foot on

to bump into someone exp

to hit someone with your body or a part of your body accidentally

to smash vb

to break glass; to break completely and into small pieces

I like to say sorry with flowers.

Sorry about dropping that bottle on your foot.

Please say you’re sorry.

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Track 06

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The bank

A PIN number

(a personal identification number).

A bank

A coin A note / bill A credit card A cheque

A bag of money An alarm A security guard

A cheque book A traveller’s cheque A piggy bank A purse

The bank

What you say

I’d like to pay this money into my

account, please

I’d like to take 600 euros out, please

What’s my bank balance, please? /

Could you give me a bank

statement, please?

I’d like to transfer some money from

my current account, please

Are there any bank charges?

I’d like to cash this cheque, please

I’d like to apply for

a mortgage / I’d like to apply for an overdraft, please

How much interest does it pay? / What’s the interest rate?

I’ve lost my credit card / I need to cancel my credit card urgently

I’d like to apply for a new credit card, please

I’m sorry but I’ve forgotten my PIN number

Could you change this note for me, please?

Could I have some larger bills and small bills, please?

Please give it to me in 20-euro notes

Could I have the rest in change, please?

What’s the exchange rate for euros

to British pounds, please?

What you hear

The exchange rate for euros to British pounds is 0.748

We charge a 2% commission rate

The current interest rate is 4%

There are no bank charges

I’m afraid the account is overdrawn

I’m afraid there are no funds in the account

Which account would you like to transfer the money from?

Could you sign and date the cheque,

a transaction n

a bank operation

Now listen to this dialogue In this conversation, Jane is in the bank

Cashier: Good morning

Jane: Good morning I’d like to pay this money into my

account, please

Cashier: Have you filled in a paying-in slip

Jane: No, I didn’t see them

Cashier: Here you are (He gives Jane a slip.)

Jane: (Jane fills it out.) I’d also like to apply for a credit card

Cashier: You’ll need to fill out this form (He gives Jane a form.) Then, we’ll process

your application

Jane: I’ve also got these US dollars on me Can I change them here?

Cashier: Yes, that won’t be a problem

Jane: What’s the exchange rate for dollars to pounds?

Cashier: It’s 0.50615 pence That means that one dollar is worth 50.615 pence

Jane: So, if I change 100 US dollars, I’ll get about 50 pounds, right?

Cashier: Yes, 50 pounds and 61.5 pence, to be precise

Jane: And are there any charges?

Cashier: There’s a 2.5% commission charge on all transactions

Jane: OK I’ll think I’ll just keep them for my next trip to the states

Cashier: OK Have a nice day

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to avoid vb

if you “avoid” doing something, you try not to do that thing

obesity n the state of being extremely overweight or fat

a dodger n

this word comes from the verb “to dodge”, which means to avoid (see previous entry)

to remove vb

if you “remove” hair, you take it off, often with a knife

tanned skin n skin that is darker/browner from the sun

of affection, etc.

The English language is constantly

changing And new words come into

existence from year to year Here are a

few that have appeared in dictionaries in

recent times

Password fatigue – the stress and

frustration caused by having to learn so

many different passwords

Man flu – a minor cold contracted

by a man who then exaggerates the

symptoms in order to avoid going to

work

Globesity – the problem of rising

obesity around the globe.

A floordrobe – a floor space that is

used as a place for keeping your clothes

A salad dodger – an

overweight person Literally,

someone who “dodges”

computer game player

who deliberately sabotages

the game

To binge-watch – to watch multiple episodes of a TV series, watching one episode after another

A bro hug – a friendly embrace

between two men

Clickbait – content on a website whose main purpose is to attract attention and tempt users to click on a link

To hate-watch – to watch a television programme you don’t like because you enjoy mocking or criticising it

A hot mess – a person or thing that is

on Twitter while the event is taking place

To vape – to inhale and exhale the vapour produced

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to waste police time exp

to cause the police to spend time on something that isn’t important

(he) started coming on exp inform

he became aggressive to me

to let someone in exp

to permit someone to enter

cos exp inform because

well-cool adj inform very fashionable

trainers n shoes for doing sport (“sneakers” in

US English)

Here’s another part of our mini-series on ridiculous but real emergency phone calls Telephone 999

Wacky but absolutely true emergency calls Celebrating 70 years of stupid calls

Call I – The Wrong Trousers

Operator: Police Can I help you?

Caller: Yes, hello Is that the police?

Operator: Yes

Caller: Erm, I’m just calling because I’ve

just bought these trousers

Operator: This is an emergency number

Caller: Yes, and the trousers don’t fit

But I can’t find the receipt

What rights do I have?

Operator: I don’t know, but you’re wasting

Operator: I’m terminating this call.

Call II – The Wrong Club

Operator: Police Can I help you?

Caller: Yeah, I’d like to report this guy who works

in Bojolly’s, the nightclub in Harden Street

Operator: Is this an emergency?

Caller: Well, this guy got all aggressive with me

and he starting coming on

Operator: Where did this happen?

Caller: Like I said, in Bojolly’s I was out with

my mates and we tried to get into this club…

Operator: Yes, I know Bojolly’s

Caller: Yes, and this guy wouldn’t let us in He

said it was cos I wasn’t wearing shoes, but I had these well-cool trainers on…

Operator: This is not a police matter, and it certainly

isn’t an emergency

Caller: So, what am I supposed to do?

Operator: I don’t care.

pancakes

Every year, the English celebrate Pancake Day This is

held on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is

the first day of Lent (the 40 days before Easter) This

year, Pancake Day was on 5th February Pancakes are

traditionally eaten on Pancake Day However, you

can eat them at any time during the year, and they

are perfect for a late breakfast, or an afternoon snack

To make your own pancakes, you’ll need a bowl for

mixing the ingredients, a wooden spoon, a container for

pouring the pancake mixture, a frying pan and a plate

Here is our recipe for pancakes

Mix the flour and the salt in the bowl

Add the egg and half the milk, and when it’s all well

mixed, add the rest of the milk

Leave the mixture to stand for about 20 minutes

Heat up a little butter in the frying pan Then, add

enough mixture to cover the bottom of the pan

Turn the pancake over once then remove Put the

pancake on a plate and make another one

Traditionally the pancake is filled or covered with lemon

and sugar, but they can also be served with cheese, ham,

jam, chocolate or any mixture of those things Delicious!

GLOSSARY

Easter n the holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Trivia MaTching

tching Exercise

See if you can do this matching exercise Look at the list of things ( 1 to 14 ),

and the photos ( A- N) Write a letter next to the name of each thing in the list below

L

M

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16

time and they

are always all

the same sex

Bats have only one baby a year

Honey found in the tombs of

Egyptian pharaohs is edible,

despite being thousands of

years old

Deer can’t eat hay.

Human birth control pills

work on gorillas Incidentally,

gorillas sleep as much as

fourteen hours per day What

The drink 7-UP was created

in 1929 But where did the

name come from? Well, “7”

was selected because the

original containers were 7

ounces And “UP” indicated

the direction of the bubbles.

Alcohol mixed with a

carbonated drink is

absorbed into the body more

quickly than a straight shot.

Gopher snakes in Arizona

are not poisonous, but when

frightened they may hiss

and shake their tails like

rattlesnakes

North American oysters do

not make pearls of any value

cures The ancient

Greeks thought that

eating cabbage

would cure it and the ancient Romans preferred eating

fried canaries Today,

some Germans eat

a breakfast

of red meat and bananas, the French drink strong coffee with salt, the Chinese

drink spinach

tea, the Puerto

Ricans rub half

a lemon under their drinking arm, Haitians stick 13 black-

headed needles into the cork of the bottle

from which they drank, and Russians drink vodka

as a hair-of-the-dog cure

Which one would you like

to try next time?

Weird Trivia

GLOSSARY

edible adj that you can eat

hay n dried grass often given as food to animals

to shake vb

to move from side to side or up and down

a tail n the back part of an animal’s body It

to move up and down or from side

to side over a surface using pressure

a cure for a hangover that consists

of drinking more alcohol

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a breath test n

if you are given a “breath test”, you must blow into a tube A machine then shows the police how much alcohol you have been drinking

over the limit exp with more alcohol in your body than

to make off with something exp

to steal something and to leave quickly

a trailer n

a vehicle for transporting goods that

is pulled by another vehicle

to drive away with something exp

to steal something and to leave in a car/vehicle quickly

footage n

“footage” of an event is a part of it that has been filmed

to appeal for something exp

to ask for something (money, help, etc) that you desperately need

naked adj with no clothes

a referee n

a person who manages/controls/ directs a game of football

indecent exposure n the crime of showing parts of your naked body in public

a witness n

a person who sees a crime

to withdraw for deliberations exp

to have a break during a trial so people can discuss an aspect of it

a reprieve n

to delay or cancel a punishment

Here’s another part in our series on good, bad and funny criminals

Drinking Bribes

Driver loses her

licence minutes after

passing her test

It was an important

day for Kristen

Andrews as she was

taking her driving test Like

most people, she was very

nervous But luckily, her

examiner was a friendly chap,

so they started chatting “I

promised to buy him a drink

if I got my licence, and he

said that would be lovely,”

24-year-old Kristen explained

“Anyway, I passed (surprise,

surprise) and we went to a

café where we had a couple of

wines Then, I offered to drive

him home I was so happy I

just didn’t think about the

drink-drive rules.”

Kristen, who is from the village

of Marling, was stopped by

police a few metres down the

road for erratic driving After

taking a breath test, police

found that both she and the

examiner, Ivan Finn, 48, were

three times over the limit “I

was supposed to be happy,

but now I’ve lost my licence

and I can’t take the test again

for another six months,”

Kristen said

Beer Thief

What I don’t understand is, what could they possibly want with all that beer?” said

a member of the Gardai (the Irish police) after

a thief drove a truck into the

Guinness Brewery in

Dublin and made

off with a trailer

full of beer “That

guy drove away

a spokesperson for the brewery said

“This is the first time such a robbery has taken place on the company’s premises

We’ve never had

such a breach of

security before this

and we’re taking it extremely seriously,” the spokesperson added

“All CCTV footage is

being viewed.” The Gardai

have appealed for

information

Flash in the Pan

Man in unusual protest

I wanted to protest against my sentence, so I took my clothes off in public,” said Marcus Wagner, who was in court for… taking his clothes off in public The 60-year-old had previously run onto a football

pitch naked during a

soccer match At the time, he was protesting against a decision

by the referee that

went against his football team The latest incident took place during Wagner’s appeal against a conviction for

indecent exposure A witness

said, “The court

withdrew for deliberations

and during the break this guy took his clothes off right in front

of us.” The man’s lawyer said, “My client sees himself as

a living work of art I demand a

Learn over 500 useful words and expressions for travelling abroad.

40 topic areas covering a wide range of typical situations.

Over 400 images to help you learn the words and expressions.

More than 30 dialogues so you can hear the language in action.

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Track 11

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Download the MP3 audio files for this month’s magazine from here:

available for

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a year!

Ireland SpecIal

live and let live exp

to accept things as they are – not to try to change things

blind adj with no ability to see

Give up your struggle,

You know it’s been said,

You’re fighting yourself,

But it’s all in your head,

When will it come to an end?

Leave it all,

Know when to leave it,

Know what it means, yeah,

Really perceive it,

When will you learn?

Oh, when will you learn?

Maybe somebody ought to show you,

The meaning of live and let live,

However, will you be able?

To justify, justify?

Don’t you think things could be better?

Don’t you see how good they could be?

Wake up before you’re left dreaming,

You can look but you don’t always see

How blind we can be, how blind we can be

Don’t you think things could be better?

Don’t you see how good they could be?

Wake up before you’re left dreaming,

You can look but you don’t always see

How blind we can be, how blind we can be.

Ireland QuIz

What do you know about Ireland? See if you can answer these questions

1. What colour do people generally wear on St Patrick’s Day?

2 What drink is popular on St Patrick’s Day?

3. Who was St Patrick?

4. Which countries celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

5. What is an Irish coffee?

6. What are the colours of the Irish flag?

7. What musical instrument is on the Irish flag?

8. What is a shamrock?

9. What is a leprechaun?

10. What symbol did St Patrick use to explain Christianity? Why?

MaP

How well do you know Ireland?

See if you can put the Irish cities on the map

Donegal, Galway, Sligo, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast.

Ireland S

Meyers was born Jonathan Michael

Francis O’Keeffe in Dublin on 27th July

1977 His stage name comes from his

mother’s maiden name, Meyers When Meyers

was three years old, his parents separated His

mother raised Jonathan and his brother Alan,

while his other two brothers went to live at their

grandmother’s house with their father

Later, Meyers was expelled from school at the

age of 16, and spent much of his time in pool

halls One day, casting agents looking for Irish

boys to appear in a film spotted Meyers at a pool

hall in Cork He didn’t get a part in that film, but

they encouraged him to pursue a career in acting

His first film role came soon

afterwards in A Man of No

Importance (1994) In 1996, he appeared in the

film Michael Collins as Collins’ assassin.

His film roles range from a rock star (in Velvet

Goldmine –1998) to a girls’ football trainer (in

Bend It Like Beckham – 2002) In 2005, Meyers

starred in Woody Allen’s

film Match Point, for which

he received a Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film

Festival In 2006, he

appeared in Mission:

Impossible III

Myers is currently starring in the

The Tudors (2007)

as young King Henry VIII He was nominated for the Golden Globe

Award for Best

Performance by an Actor In A Television Series for this role

Meyers has other talents as well He did much

of the singing in the film Velvet Goldmine And

he was chosen as the face for the Versace men’s collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring

2007, plus he was the face of the Hugo Boss

men’s fragrance range for

In January 2007, Meyers checked into a rehab

facility seeking treatment for alcohol abuse

And on 18th November 2007, he was arrested

in Dublin Airport and charged with being drunk

and in breach of the peace.

You’ve probably seen him on Hugo Boss ads He starred in the Woody Allen film Match Point,

and he’s been the face of Versace for their men’s collection He is Ireland’s hottest actor and

model He is Jonathan Rhys Meyers

GLOSSARY

a maiden name n

a married woman’s surname before she is married – in some English- speaking countries, women change their surnames when they marry

to raise vb

if you are “raised” by someone, you are educated and looked after by that person until you are an adult

to expel from school exp

to order someone to leave school and never return as a form of punishment

a pool hall n

a place where you can play pool (a game that is similar to billiards)

a casting agent n

a person who selects the actors/

actresses for a film

a job or profession you choose to

do for the majority of your working life

a rehab facility n

a type of hospital for people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs

in breach of the peace n

if you are “in breach of the peace”, you are committing a crime by creating a lot of noise in the street

THe Boss

One of Ireland’s star actors

JonAtHAn RHYs MeYeRs

Born Jonathan Michael O’Keeffe on 27th July 1977

Actor and model Most famous films include

Match Point, Bend it Like Beckham and Mission Impossible III.

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795 AD: Ireland suffered its first Viking raid

when Norwegian long ships attacked Rathlin

Island, just off the northeast coast These raids

happened for over 200 years

852 AD: Dublin was founded by the Vikings,

who later built the ports of Waterford and

Limerick These ports were used by the Vikings

for raids within Ireland but also as trading

centres.

1014: Brian Boru, the “Ard Rí”

(High King) of Ireland, finally defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf King Brian was killed in the battle The Vikings eventually mixed with the natives and became Irish

1169: Norman knights attacked Ireland and

conquered Dublin, Wexford and Waterford This

was the beginning of English involvement in

Ireland

1315: In 1314, Robert the Bruce finally

defeated the English in Scotland at

Bannockburn after an uprising started by

the Scotsman William Wallace The next year,

Robert’s brother, Edward, was invited by the

Irish to become their High King and help them

against the English Edward brought fighters

called “gallowglasses” (foreign warriors) to help

1367: Many Normans adopted Irish customs

and began to speak Gaelic They became

known as the Anglo-Irish However, the English

king passed laws to prevent this, called The

Statutes of Kilkenny, and the Anglo-Irish were

banned from speaking the native language

(amongst other things) The laws were

ineffective as nobody in Ireland listened much

to the English king

1536: The Protestant Reformation reached

England when King Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church The people

of England, Scotland and Wales accepted Protestantism but Ireland remained Catholic

Henry tried to subdue the Anglo-Irish and Gaelic lords of Ireland and convert the country

to Protestantism The island was eventually conquered totally by the English but it took a century and constant conflict, ending with the Nine Years War

1594-1603: The Nine Years

War was a rebellion led by the Gaelic chieftains “Red” Hugh

O’Donnell and Hugh O’Neill with the help of Spain It was

finally crushed when a Spanish

force was defeated by the English at Kinsale, near Cork in 1601 The two

chieftains eventually surrendered and went

into exile in Spain where their descendants still

live This event is known as “The Flight of the Earls”

1641: After the Nine Years War, more Protestants began to settle in Ireland Their

descendants would become the ruling class

in Ireland until the twentieth century Hatred between the Catholic Irish and Protestant British

led to centuries of misery A rebellion by the

Irish broke out in the north and massacres were common on both sides

1649: After the English Civil War (1642 and 1651) the new English leader, Oliver Cromwell, invaded Ireland with his army This man is probably the most hated person in Irish history It has been estimated that Cromwell’s actions left 15-20 percent of

For thousands of years, Ireland lived in isolation Then came the Vikings, the Normans and the English

and a thousand years of blood, violence and death This is the story of Ireland By Martin Quinn

IrIsh hIsTory A quick look at the history of Ireland

the Irish population dead or in exile

War, famine and plague destroyed the

country, and the native Irish were given two options, “Go to hell or to Connacht”

In short, if you didn’t go to the province

of Connacht (in the west) you would

be killed Many historians agree that if something like this happened today it

would be described correctly as genocide

1689-1691: The Williamite War This was fought between James I of England (a Catholic)

and his son-in law, William of Orange (who was

a Dutch Protestant) James had been deposed

as king and William was invited to replace him James and his army, the Jacobites, fled to Ireland and were defeated in a war against William’s army (who, ironically, had the Popes blessing) This victory is still celebrated today

by Irish Unionists and is known

as “The 12th” or “The 12th of July” As a result of the war, many Irish Jacobites left Ireland and joined the Spanish and French armies They became known as the “Wild Geese”

1691-1798: After the war, laws (called the Penal Laws)

were created to oppress Irish

Catholics These laws meant that Catholics were restricted

in religious practice or

land ownership The laws also affected the Dissenters (Presbyterian Protestants) too The climax of the struggle against the Penal Laws was a Protestant-led rebellion in 1798

1801: Ireland and Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) became a single state in the Act of Union The combined nations were known as the United Kingdom (these days, the United Kingdom refers to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)

1845-1852: “An Gorta Mór” (The Potato Famine) killed over one million people and around one million people left on ships, mostly to America The

ships were often known as Coffin

Ships because most of the passengers died on the voyage

1916-1923: The Easter

Rising broke out in

Dublin This was followed

by a war of independence against the British At the end of this war, Ireland was left semi-independent with the six north-eastern

counties still part of Britain

and becoming known by Britain as Northern Ireland

The Irish refer to this area as “the six counties”

or “the north (of Ireland)” or “the black north”

Loyalists/Unionists (those who want Northern

Ireland to remain British) and many British people refer to it as Northern Ireland

1949: The twenty-six southern counties in the south became a republic known as the Republic

of Ireland

1969: Loyalist mobs led by

members of the B-Specials (a police reserve unit) attacked Catholic areas in Belfast and

Derry, starting “The Troubles”

Some 3,600 people died during this war that the IRA waged against the British Army and Loyalist

paramilitaries.

2007: After years of negotiations, a deal was

reached for power sharing

in Northern Ireland between

Unionists and Nationalists

the Protestant Reformation n

a movement that Martin Luther began in 1517

to go into exile exp

to go to live in another country because it is too dangerous for you

in your own country

a descendant n

someone’s “descendants” are the people in later generations who are related to them

the ruling class n the people who rule in a country

misery n suffering, unhappiness, poverty, etc

famine n

a situation in which there is no food

to eat and people are dying

genocide n the systematic extermination of a whole race/group of people

a son-in-law n the husband of your daughter

to depose vb

if a ruler or leader is “deposed”, he/

she is forced to leave

a coffin n

a box/container for a dead body

the Easter Rising n

an attack in 1916 by Irish Nationalists against the British

a period of Irish history (1963-1985)

in which Irish nationalists were fighting against the British army and Unionists

Potato Famine

23 For company classes, Skype-Phone classes or private tuition, contact classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com /

Starring Liam Neeson and directed by Neil

Jordan, this biopic is about the famous IRA

leader and founding father of the modern Irish Republic It was very controversial at the time of its release

Northern Irish Unionists were furious at the

film’s depiction of a man they consider to be

a terrorist and a traitor At the same time,

Nationalists praised the film for its portrayal of

Collins – someone glorified by Irish people as a

courageous guerrilla leader who defeated the

British Empire through the use of clever tactics

There were many historical inaccuracies in the

film but most viewers accepted that the film

and its discrepancies were in the spirit of a time

of turmoil and change

The Wind ThaT shakes The Barley (2006).

Equally controversial is

the film The Wind that

Shakes the Barley It is

directed by English director Ken Loach and stars Irish actor Cillian Murphy This film tells the fictional story of two brothers fighting the British during

the War of Independence Later, the two

brothers fight on opposing sides during the

Irish Civil War that follows The film describes

the political differences dividing Republican

volunteers, the gap between left and right, and

the feeling of betrayal by many people after the Anglo-Irish Treaty left the six counties in

the north of Ireland to the British Set at the

same point of history as Michael Collins, The

Wind that Shakes the Barley won the Palm d’Or at

the Cannes Film Festival

in The naMe

of The faTher (1993).

Directed by Terry George and Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day Lewis,

In the Name of the Father was nominated

for eight Oscars and received much critical acclaim It

tells the story of the Guildford Four – the true

story of four Irish people falsely convicted and imprisoned for a series of IRA bombings in

Ireland has had a violent history with many colourful characters All of this makes for great

cinema, which is why Ireland has featured so often as a topic for films Here are a few films that

touch on the topic of Irish history By Martin Quinn

Cinema

/ www.learnhotenglish.com / For Skype-Phone speaking classes, e-mail classes@learnhotenglish.com

24

a film about someone’s life

the IRA abbr the Irish Republican Army – an armed group who were fighting against the British occupation of Ireland

to praise vb

to say good things about something/someone

courageous adj brave; with no fear of danger

a guerrilla n

a fighter who is part of an irregular army (not a state/government army)

a historical inaccuracy n something that isn’t true according

to history

the War of Independence n

a war fought between the Irish and the British (1919-1921) In the end, the south became independent, but the northern part remained a part of Britain

the Irish Civil War n

a war fought in Ireland (1922-1923)

as a result of the division of Ireland after the War of Independence

betrayal n the act of doing something against your country

the Anglo-Irish Treaty n

the agreement signed at the end

of the War of Independence It left Ireland divided between the south and the north

the Guildford Four n

four people accused of being members of the IRA and of planting bombs in the English town of Guildford

to beat something out of someone exp

to hit someone many times in order

to make them talk

to overturn a conviction exp

to say that a previous conviction (sentence) was not valid

the 1981 Hunger Strike n

a protest by Irish Nationalist prisoners who demanded to be treated as prisoners of war

Cinema IrelandEngland The story is told through the eyes of

Belfast man Gerry Conlon, who spent 14 years in

an English “gaol” [the Gaelic spelling for “jail] for crimes that were later admitted to by an actual IRA active service unit The Four were convicted

on the basis of confessions that were beaten

out of them by English police and doctored

police notes Conlon (played by Daniel Day Lewis) along with Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson were eventually released

and their convictions were overturned.

Bloody Sunday/

Sunday.

Coverage of the recent conflict in Northern Ireland has continued in the form of TV movies Two of these concentrate

on the events of 30th January 1972 in the city

of Derry, known as “Bloody Sunday” This was a massacre of 14 unarmed Nationalist civil-rights

protestors and the subsequent cover-up by the

British army This all took place during a time

called “The Troubles” The first film, directed

by Paul Greengrass, tells the story through the eyes of Ivan Cooper, the man who organised the march, and from the point

of view of Leo Young, brother of John Young, one of the victims The second film, written by hard-hitting English scriptwriter Jimmy McGovern, also deals with the reaction of many young Nationalists, which often consisted of joining the IRA

H3/Some motHer’S Son.

The story of the 1981

story of the mother of

a hunger

striker

and the emotional struggle between respecting her son’s wishes and wanting to stop him from dying The

other film, H3, was written by Brian Campbell

and surviving hunger striker Laurence McKeown

Both films dealt with the struggle inside northern Irish prisons between the British authorities and Irish Republicans, who wanted to be treated as prisoners of war As part of the protest, the prisoners refused to wear uniforms (a symbol of criminality), leaving only blankets to cover themselves When this failed, a no-wash protest started when they refused to

“slop out”

A hunger strike, led

by the prisoners’

leader Bobby Sands was the final option

Eventually, ten men died, causing huge riots and sparking world-wide protests

For more company classes or private tuition, contact classes@learnhotenglish.com / www.learnhotenglish.com / 25

Learn 4 different ways to greet an interviewer in English

1

Sarah: Hi, I’m Sarah Jenkins I’m here for the interview

Harry: Oh, hi, Sarah Harry Goodwin Pleased to meet

you

Sarah: Pleased to meet you

Harry: Can I get you anything to (1) _? A cup of

coffee?

Sarah: I’m all right thanks

Harry: So, did you have any trouble finding us?

Sarah: No, the (2) _ you sent were perfect.

Harry: Right, so, erm, if you’d just like to take a

(3) _, I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes

Sarah: OK Thanks

Josh: Hi, I’m Josh Bates I’m here for the interview

Dan: Oh, hi Josh Dan Nichols I’ll be interviewing you (4)

_ [They shake hands.] Pleased to meet you.

Josh: Pleased to meet you Nice view

Dan: Thanks Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?

Josh: I’ll have a cup of (5) _, if that’s all right

Dan: Milk and sugar?

Josh: Just milk, please

Dan: OK, I’ll be back in just a (6) _ and we can get

started

Josh: Great

Track 13

3

Sam: Hi, I’m Sam Davies I’ve got an interview with

Ms Martins

Deborah: Oh, hi I’m Deborah Martins We spoke on the

(7) _ last week Pleased to meet you

Sam: Pleased to meet you

Deborah: So, did you come by car in the end?

Sam: Yes, and thanks for the directions I thought

about taking the (8) _, but it’s quite far

from the station

Deborah: Yes, a 20-minute walk with this rain wouldn’t be

pleasant So, how was the traffic?

Sam: Not too bad for this time of the (9) _.

[silence]

Deborah: So, erm, would you like to take a seat?

Sam: Yes, please

Deborah: So, erm, tell me, what [fades out]

Gordon: I’m Gordon Mathews How do you do?

Ben: How do you do?

Gordon: Would you like anything to drink?

Ben: No, I’m fine, thanks [silence] A bit (10) _

today, isn’t it?

Gordon: Oh, yes It seems like we skipped autumn and

went straight to winter So, if you’d like to come

in here You can put your coat behind the (11)

_

Ben: Thanks

Gordon: Have you got a copy of your (12) _?

Ben: Yes, here you are

Gordon: That’s great I’ll be with you in just a minute.

History

Although no-one is sure of the

origin of the Celts, their original

homeland is thought to have

been southern Germany and

Austria They moved across

Europe and covered a large

area from modern-day Turkey

to Spain Irish Celts are thought

to have come to Ireland from

northern Spain about 3,000

years ago

When the Celts got to Ireland, they brought

many skills and traditions with them, including

their use of iron instead of bronze, the Gaelic

language and their music It was here that the

culture of the Celts survived in its strongest

sense until modern times One reason for this

was the fact that the Romans never invaded

Ireland so the culture was left intact for many

centuries

Later on, the Celtic Irish fought with Viking

invaders The Celts finally defeated the Vikings

at the Battle of Clontarf, led by the High King,

Brian Boru, in 1014 At this time, Ireland, now a

Christian country, became known as “the land of saints and scholars” because it was unaffected by the major fighting force in Europe: the Huns In this period, known

as “the Dark Ages”, much knowledge throughout Europe was lost and was only preserved by

Irish monks in beautifully decorated texts and

drawings The next group of people to come

to Ireland were the Normans (from England

and Wales, but originally from northern France)

and many of their customs and practices were

adopted by the Celts

MytHs and legends

Ireland is a land of stories, fairy tales and

legends There are literally thousands of them

They were originally told by storytellers who

never wrote anything down but memorised

these sagas Later, they were written down

by the monks after Ireland’s conversion to

Christianity by Saint Patrick Many of these

stories were about gods and fighting men, war, conquest,

love and betrayal One of

the most famous was the

Táin bó Cuailgne (the Cattle

Raid of Cooley), the story of

a war for the ownership of

a supernatural bull between

the provinces of Ulster (in the north) and

Connacht (in the west) The story goes that the army of Connacht, led by the warrior queen Maeve, invaded Ulster while the fighters of that province were affected

by a curse The only warrior not struck down

was the greatest of them all, Cúchulainn, the son of the god Lú Cúchulainn had to defend the narrow entry into Ulster near the modern-day town of Dundalk until the rest of the army recovered He did this successfully and the army of Ulster won the war, but Maeve never

forgave him and planned her revenge She

got this several years later when Cúchulainn, alone again, was killed by her army As he died, Cúchulainn tied himself to a rock so that he would die standing, facing his enemies, thereby assuring his fame forever

Another legend tells the story of the settlement

of Ireland Five races of people came, one after the other to the country, the first led by Cessair, the daughter of Noah in the wake

of the great flood The final race came from a place known as the “Land of the Dead” (this is translated from ancient Gaelic as “Spain”), led by their king Mil Espáine who died before he could see Ireland His wife Scota (who Scotland is named after) led the Milesians to Ireland, where they

fought a battle with the Tuatha dé Danaan (the

Fairy People) for control of the country, which they won

These days, if you’re lucky, you can hear these stories over a few pints of Guinness and a glass

of John Jameson’s down in the local pub

The Celts are a mysterious people who have lived in Europe for thousands of years In Ireland,

Celtic culture is considered an important part of the country’s charm Because of Ireland’s

Celtic connection, Ireland has friendly ties with other parts of Western Europe, including

Scotland, Wales and Spain By Martin Quinn

GLOSSARY

charm n the quality of being nice, pleasant and attractive

struck down exp

if you are “struck down” by something, you are affected by that thing – often an illness

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